Disklavier

There are obviously 2 views on the usefulness of an "i" device for
controlling a Disklavier.  

Just one point of clarification.  An older DKV doesn't need wireless
capability to connect wirelessly to a laptop.  It just needs a MIDI IN port
(USB) to connect an IOGEAR wireless USB sharing station to.  If it has no
USB connectivity, then it will also need a USB to MIDI interface.  

The type of USB midi interface is important.  The cheap ones from China,
which I have found to work very well for connecting to a MIDI instrument via
USB do not seem to work with the wireless device from IOGEAR.  The IOGEAR
device asks for the driver for the USB interface (ie, as a piece of software
that can be read).  The Chinese USB interfaces that I have used come with a
driver built in which installs on the computer when first connected.  You
will need a device that comes with its driver on a disk.  An older Roland
USB MIDI interface that I have comes with drivers on a disk.  However, I
have not tried it with the IOGEAR device - be aware.  Here is a link to the
IOGEAR USB sharing station  http://www.iogear.com/product/GUWIP204/.

 

  _____  

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Carol Beigel
Sent: Wednesday, 26 June 2013 11:01 PM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Cc: Carol Beigel
Subject: Re: [disklavier] DKVs using iOS and OSX

 

  

The article was meant for users of older Disklaviers that have no wireless
capability. It can be quite practical to use an iPad for many things at
home:  controlling the Apple TV, showing photographs, playing movies and
music, etc.  If one connects a wired MIDI interface to their older
Disklavier, then all that is needed to play it without using the floppy
drive, is to connect the iPad using playlist software.  Many  homes I visit
have iPads and older Disklaviers. I think about 140 million people also use
iPhones so it could have its uses!

 

Carol

 

On Jun 25, 2013, at 10:17 PM, Geoff Ward wrote:





 

I don't know why anyone would wish to control a DKV with an iPad, or worse
still an iPhone.  The Yamaha interface for creating playlists and playing
them is soooo limited.  I have a C3 Mark IV and quickly abandoned the iPad
app which Yamaha provide.  I use a Windows 7 notepad PC running Van Basco's
Karaoke Player to create playlists and play anything I like.  I don't even
use the hard disk in the DKV.

 

My PC is a Vaio notebook (or laptop).  I connect to the DKV via the USB
port, but not with a cable, but through my WIFI network using a wireless USB
connection from IOGEAR.  So, with a cable-free laptop I can get full control
all I wish to do.  When it comes to recording from the DKV, I also use the
laptop and Cakewalk via the wireless USB.

 

Am I missing something here?

 

Kind regards

 

Geoff

 

 

  _____  

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Carol Beigel
Sent: Wednesday, 26 June 2013 11:30 AM
To: disklavier@...
Cc: Carol Beigel
Subject: [disklavier] DKVs using iOS and OSX

 

 

 

Using an iPad, iPhone or MacBook laptop to Control Older Disklaviers

 

I have been asked several times lately about using Disklavier utilities with
Windows 7 or 8.  I gave up on anything Windows based almost 2 years ago and
switched to whatever I could buy at the iLust store.  The sole exception is
that I still recommend for owners of Disklaviers from the Mark III and older
that they maintain some form of PC that will run Windows XP and preferably
older, like Windows 98 to be able to use the DKV utilities.  Those utilities
are the only source I know of for converting ESEQ toMIDI files or creating
playlists for Windows XP (yamplayer), and can be found at
www.midiplayertools.com. Some people have had success on their Macs
installing a dual boot system and running Windows XP in virtual mode.
However that option has never appealed to me because it still requires all
those updates and constant virus protection.

 

Now I have 5 different Apple devices that run on 4 different operating
systems, and I would like to control my Mark IIXG Disklavier with an iPhone
5, iPad 2, and a MacBook Pro laptop running Lion.  Why?  I am finally
interested in creating playlists so I don't need to change the floppy disk
every 30 minutes!  At least owners of Mark III's have 16 built-in disks that
will each hold 59 to 99 MIDI files. If you own a Mark IV, E3 Disklavier or
have the DKC-850 upgrade Control Box, then your system has an IP address and
can be controlled wirelessly with the iPhone, iPod or iPad using a free app
in the app store. The rest of us need to use the MIDI In port on the control
box.

 

This article assumes you are using MIDI files, either converted from the
ESEQ (proprietary format used by Yamaha) using the DKV utilities, or that
have the piano parts playing on channels 1 or 2.  Even MIDI files that have
ensemble tone generated parts will play from a smart phone, and you will be
able to hear those parts as long as you have an audio cable connected to a
powered speaker from the L output on the DKV control box.

 

iPhones, iPods and iPads run on a mobile operation system called iOS which
is version 6.1 as of this writing for the iPhone 5. Software is purchased
thru the App store on a mobile device.  Apps purchased for your iPhone will
most often run on the iPod or iPad at no extra charge, but not all apps are
written for all 3 devices.  

 

MacBook laptops, even though they are portable, run on a desktop operating
system, OS X as in the current case OS X 10.7.5 called Lion.  You can
purchase apps thru the app store or from the developer directly via the
internet. If you purchased an app for your iOS device, and want to use the
same program on your laptop, you must purchase another version for the OS X
device. Thankfully, two programs that are free, communicate with ALL your
devices, Mac and Windows, mobile and desktop, that you will need are iTunes
and Dropbox. 

 

You will need a hardware item called a MIDI interface.  For all Apple
devices you need hardware that is Core MIDI compliant.  MIDI Out from the
interface connects to the MIDI In on the Disklavier.  For the mobile
devices, there are 3 brands and each costs $69.95.  I use the Yamaha i-MX-1.
The Apple Store usually carries the iRig MIDI, and the other brand is Line 6
Mobile II.  All of these MIDI interfaces come with the older 30-pin
connector found on the iPad 2 and iPhone 4, but they all work with Apple's
Lighting   Connector adaptor for an additional $28 that you will need for
the new iPhone 5 and iPad 3. For the laptop, you need a USB MIDI interface.
These are about half the price and the most popular ones should work as long
as they are Core MIDI Compliant.  Mine is the MAudio Uno I used on my
Windows laptop.

 

Now you need playlist software installed on your device.  I suggest Sweet
MIDI Player for the iPhone, iPod and iPad.  The free version only plays part
of the file, but the full version for $14.95 will run on all three devices
at no extra charge.  If you want to use this player on the laptop, it will
cost you $29.95.  You can place MIDI files onto your mobile device in 3
ways.  The easiest way is to physically connect your mobile device to a
desktop or laptop computer running iTunes. Click the Apps tab at the top and
drag the midi files into the appropriate box.  Another way is to set up a
folder in Dropbox and put your midi files there. Dropbox can be used on any
computer.  Just click on the file in Dropbox, touch the down arrow when it
says it cannot open the file, and send it to the Sweet MIDI Player.  For
single midi files, just email it to your iCloud email and open them in the
Sweet MIDI Player.

 

For my MacBook laptop, I am using Rondo ($25) from fracturedsoftware.com.
QMIDI and Sweet MIDI Player also work with Lion.

 

To get MIDI files to play your Disklavier, you MUST send the data from the
software player to the interface. For the mobile device, choose Settings
tab. With the iPhone, you need to turn the phone sideways to see the
Settings tab! Set Output Type to Core MIDI, and the MIDI Output to iPad
Accessory.   For the laptop version, the MIDI output must be the name of the
MIDIinterface.

 

Make sure your Disklavier is turned on. Press the Function button, then MIDI
setup, then Piano Part. Import File settings can be L=PrgAll or whatever
channel you want for the piano part.

 

Enjoy!